Despite watching his team win two of three against the Red Sox this weekend, with only a blown save by Mariano Rivera preventing a sweep, George Steinbrenner refused to gloat.

As he departed the Stadium about an hour after the Yankees’ 11-1 thumping of the Red Sox, Steinbrenner was asked if he thought the Yankees had clearly wrested control of the AL East.

“We didn’t gain control of anything,” Steinbrenner said.

Perhaps not, but following their second straight trouncing of Boston in The Bronx, the Yankees took a 4 1/2-game lead over the Red Sox with 13 contests remaining.

The Boss sounded confident that the Yankees would finish the season in good fashion.

“They’re fighters,” Steinbrenner said. “They played very well.”

A strong outing by Mike Mussina came on the heels of another excellent start by Jon Lieber on Saturday and the Yankees’ bats pounded out 25 runs in the pair of victories. Both games were all the more critical after Friday’s stunning 3-2 defeat when Rivera gave up a pair of runs in the ninth that cost the Yankees the game and reduced Boston’s deficit to 2 1/2.

Steinbrenner seemed especially satisfied that the Yankees weren’t adversely affected by Friday night’s heartbreaker and were able to stop Boston’s momentum.

“They didn’t give up,” Steinbrenner said.

The teams meet again Friday through Sunday in Boston. While the outcome of the these two series will likely be the deciding factor in who wins the division and who settles for the wild card, Steinbrenner insisted he didn’t put any greater emphasis on these games.